Li Xiaotian's family was slowly preparing to move to Jiangnan.
Ye Qingmei had no objections to Li Xiaotian's proposal. After all, Jiangcheng was a place of sorrow for her and her daughter. She had wanted to leave Jiangcheng long ago.
As for Li Xiaotian's true identity, he chose to reveal some information to Ye Qingmei, the gist being that her husband's status was now very powerful!
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingmei did not show the shock and surprise Li Xiaotian had expected. Instead, her face held a hint of doubt.
However, she merely said, "I understand! I understand!"
This made Li Xiaotian a bit depressed. He believed that anyone in the world, upon learning his identity, would be utterly stunned.
Yet, Ye Qingmei always looked as if she suspected him of lying. Did his identity as the Dragon King have so little weight?
However, since he had already told Ye Qingmei, Li Xiaotian would gradually make her believe him.
There was no need to hide his identity from his own family, and knowing his identity would prevent Ye Qingmei from panicking if she encountered certain situations in the future.
As the group was about to depart, Long Yi quietly approached Li Xiaotian from behind and reported in a low voice.
"Some minor troublemakers have arrived, from the Three Star Temple. Have the brothers below take care of them."
Li Xiaotian, holding packages in both hands, showed no expression and gave his instructions.
"Have the brothers go to the Yang family first, seal off the Yang family, and don't let any Yang family member escape!"
"Yes, Big Brother!"
Long Yi responded, his eyes gleaming. Three thousand generals from the Three Star Temple had arrived. He wondered if these people were skilled fighters; he hadn't engaged in combat for several days.
The ten generals from the Three Star Temple dispatched by Yang Zhenwu thought eradicating Li Xiaotian would be a simple matter, but the outcome was that they hadn't even made a ripple.
Before the people from the Three Star Temple could even enter Jiangcheng, they were casually eliminated by a patrolling warrior of the Dragon King Hall.
It was important to note that even the patrolling warriors of the Dragon King Hall possessed Battle King level combat power.
It should be understood that a general was merely someone slightly stronger than an ordinary warrior. Above generals were Battle Kings, and above Battle Kings were Battle Emperors and Battle Gods!
Even if all the members of the Three Star Temple were gathered, they probably wouldn't be enough to be killed by a single combat team from the Dragon King Hall.
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In the old residence of the Yang family in Jiangnan, the hall was filled with people. The core members of the Yang family and the heads of major families in Jiangnan were all present.
Everyone surrounded Yang Zhenwu, showering him with praise.
Yang Zhenwu smiled, showing none of the arrogance expected of a king.
Seeing this, the Yang family patriarch nodded slightly, very satisfied with Yang Zhenwu's demeanor.
The Yang family wanted to be feared, but also respected. Only in this way could the Yang family go further and higher.
After exchanging pleasantries with the heads of the major Jiangnan families who had come to offer congratulations, Yang Zhenwu took his seat on the bronze throne specially crafted for him by the Yang family, looking down at everyone.
"After ten years of traveling abroad, I return today, and I never imagined so many elders would come to welcome me. Yang Zhenwu is deeply moved."
Yang Zhenwu spoke slowly, and everyone in the hall also took their seats, listening to his words.
"Zhenwu, you are the hero of our Yang family. In the foreign war zones, you also fought valiantly for our Qin Kingdom. If not for your love of freedom, you would have long ago become a hero of our Great Qin."
Old Master Yang said with a smile, his face filled with pride.
"Indeed, although Zhenwu has established himself as a dominant force, he still keeps the Great Qin in his heart and has helped our Great Qin Kingdom immensely. It is only right that the heads of the various families from Jiangnan come to congratulate a great hero from our Jiangnan."
Yang Zhentian, the current head of the Yang family, echoed his sentiment. Today, their Yang family was the focus of Jiangnan, so he could say whatever he pleased, without worrying if his words would later be relayed to official personnel.
Their Yang family no longer cared about such matters.
"Excellent, excellent. Nephew Yang is now a king in his own right. Your roots are in Jiangnan, and we, your fellow townsfolk in Jiangnan, are proud of you. A hero has returned, and how could we allow a hero to feel indifference?"
An old man in the hall spoke with a smile. He was the head of the Sun family in Jiangnan and had a very good relationship with the Yang family. He was very happy that the Yang family had such a powerful backing.
The heads of many other families present also spoke, with endless praise pouring forth.
Yang Zhenwu's face was wreathed in smiles. He didn't care whether the people speaking these words were sincere or not. He had the confidence to back it all up.
Yang Zhenwu glanced at some of the family heads in the hall whose smiles looked strained. A cold sneer flashed in his eyes. He withdrew his smile and then spoke indifferently.
"Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but I, Yang Zhenwu, am a straightforward person and will speak my mind."
"I, Yang Zhenwu, left the family ten years ago and have always cared about the Yang family."
"Now that the king has returned, I have heard many things that have saddened me."
The hall instantly fell silent. Those with good relations with the Yang family wore expressions of schadenfreude, while those with no grievances with the Yang family adopted a "wait-and-see" attitude. As for those families that had grievances with members of the Yang family, their faces immediately turned pale.
Yang Zhenwu was going to settle scores!
Yang Zhenwu's gaze turned cold as he surveyed the few individuals in the hall. Then, he said slowly,
"Let's not even mention the ant who threatened to exterminate my Yang family. In these past ten years, those who have bullied the Yang family, I, Yang Zhenwu, know exactly what you have done."
"Grandfather has a good temper and didn't want to make a big fuss, so he tolerated some things previously."
"But I, Yang Zhenwu, am different. I repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. Some matters must be clarified!"
As soon as Yang Zhenwu finished speaking, several pale-faced individuals in the hall made a move.
A middle-aged man pulled a young man from behind him and slapped him directly across the face. Then, he clasped his hands and said loudly,
"Su Haoran, the head of the Su family, on behalf of my unfilial son Su Ping, apologizes to the Yang family! Three years ago, Su Ping had a dispute with Yang Xiaodong of the Yang family. At that time, I was foolish and only thought of protecting this boy, causing Old Master Yang considerable embarrassment."
"Today, my father and son are here to apologize. Whatever judgment the Yang family passes, our Su family will abide by your instructions."
After Su Haoran finished speaking, he bowed deeply, his attitude extremely humble. Su Ping, standing behind him, felt his eyes redden, but remembering his father's earlier instructions, he could only suppress his anger and also bowed.
"Su Ping of the Su family apologizes to Yang Xiaodong of the Yang family."
In the hall, there seemed to be faint sighs. The Su family of Jiangnan was considered a relatively upright family in terms of reputation and conduct.
The Su family had strict upbringing, so the members of the Su family always acted properly when they were out.
Many people in Jiangnan knew about the incident between the Su and Yang families three years ago. Yang Xiaodong, relying on the Yang family's status, had publicly snatched a woman.
However, this woman seemed to be a university classmate of Su Ping, so Su Ping had intervened at the time, and the two had a fierce fight as a result.
In the end, Yang Xiaodong was apparently beaten by Su Ping and had to be hospitalized.
Old Master Yang was furious at the time and demanded an apology from the Su family, but the Su family felt that Su Ping had done nothing wrong and completely disregarded the Yang family's anger.
At that time, the Su family suffered greatly because of the Yang family's harassment.
Three years had passed since this incident, yet the Yang family was still unwilling to let it go.
After the Su father and son spoke, some other people in the hall also spoke up.
"Zhang Hailiang, the head of the Zhang family, apologizes to the Yang family!"
"The Qi family apologizes to the Yang family."
In just a few short breaths, nine families apologized to the Yang family in the hall. Their attitudes were humble, and they were all half-bent over.
The hall was completely silent, and everyone looked at Yang Zhenwu on the throne.
Yang Zhenwu's expression was impassive, and he looked at the people apologizing below with a mocking gaze. Apologies? Did the Yang family need mere words of apology from you?
Yang Zhenwu gave a glance to a young man in the Yang family crowd, who was Yang Xiaodong.
Upon seeing this, Yang Xiaodong immediately looked excited and walked out with pride. He looked down at the Su father and son who were apologizing, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.
"Presumptuous! Since you know you are guilty! Then you must show a repentant attitude!"
"My second uncle is the king of the Three Star Temple. As a king, he disdains to concern himself with the likes of you ants."
"But you disrespect him like this. Do you really think my second uncle is easily angered?"
The Su father and son and the others looked bewildered, not understanding what Yang Xiaodong meant by these words. The other onlookers in the hall were also confused.
However, what Yang Xiaodong said next made everyone's hearts tremble slightly.
"Since you know you are guilty, then kneel and confess your guilt! Kneeling shows respect for my second uncle's kingly status, and confessing shows your acknowledgment of error!"
Yang Xiaodong shouted loudly, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. He glanced down at Su Ping, who was bent over, feeling extremely pleased.
Upon hearing Yang Xiaodong's words, the Su father and son and the others' faces turned extremely ugly.
Kneel and confess? They were all prominent figures in Jiangnan, and the heads of the major families in Jiangnan were all present tonight. If they knelt, how could they continue to live in Jiangnan in the future?
Furthermore, one only knelt before parents and elders. The Yang family was demanding that they kneel in public for such a trivial matter, which was simply too bullying.
Su Ping's face turned red, and he desperately wanted to rush forward and beat up Yang Xiaodong, but he was held back firmly by Su Haoran.
The other apologizing individuals also wore grim expressions. The Yang family was pushing them into a corner this time!
Seeing that the Su father and son and the others still hesitated to kneel, Yang Zhenwu's eyes flashed with anger, and he said darkly,
"Kneel and confess, and hand over half of your family's assets. With this, I, Yang Zhen Tian, will not pursue the matter further. If you refuse to comply, my three thousand generals can easily exterminate one or two families!"
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone in the hall changed their expressions. The onlookers looked filled with apprehension, thankful that they had no grievances with the Yang family.
However, the Su father and son and the others were deathly pale. They feared Yang Zhenwu resorting to force!
"Plop!" In the hall, one of the apologizing individuals instantly knelt down. It was a middle-aged man who cried out,
"I confess, I confess! Please spare me, Yang family!"